Pencak silat demo impresses Indian Olympic Association delegates

The Indian Olympic Association delegates who had come to witness the demonstration of pencak silat, sqay, roll ball and lagori games were very impressed with the expertise shown by the silat practitioners on Monday. This demonstration was held at the Manohar Parrikar Indoor Stadium, Navelim.

Over a hundred participants involved in pencak silat, sqay, roll ball and lagori games, performed at the Navelim indoor stadium before the delegates who had come to investigate the quality of the games for their inclusion in the 37th National Games 2023, which are likely to take place in the months of October and November in Goa.

There were four categories for the purpose of sequential demonstration. First, the lagori team demonstrated their game. Lagori is a traditional game of Goa, and a sport that has been played in Goan villages for ages. This game consists of a ball being aimed at a ring tower. The Goan team playing lagori displayed good skill and energy.

The pencak silat team was demonstrated second. Being a South East Asian martial art, it has some influences from other oriental martial arts. The team displayed agility, strength, speed, graceful movements, ganda (duel), tungal (forms), traditional weapon expertise, tumbling, etc.

The delegates who witnessed this demonstration were stunned at the mastery gained over the art by the silat practitioners. The delegates encouraged the participants to achieve greater heights.

The next demonstration was roll ball. Both the teams playing the game showed some exceptional skills. The players tried to score a goal while skating, which was quite a balancing act. The game was intense and the delegates were happy to see the performance by the players.

Lastly, there was a demonstration of sqay martial arts. The players tried to hit various body parts with the spongy sword and kicks, trying to score points. The match which went on for 15 minutes saw the players giving their best during the performance. 

Meanwhile, Amitabh Sharma, the executive member of IOA and chairman of the Games Technical Conduct Committee (GTCC) said the teams that have given demonstrations in pencak silat and other sports were very good, and that it was a great opportunity for the participants to showcase their talent. 

Kishore Yewale, the president of the Indian Pencak Silat Federation said, "This demonstration was held for the inclusion of this sport in the 37th National Games which will be held in Goa. There were 30 players of pencak silat of international standards who gave demonstrations in five categories of the game. The delegates who saw the demonstration of silat were all praise for the team and were happy to witness such a demo.”

Anthony Cedley Braganza, the general secretary of the Indian Pencak Silat Association Goa said that the Indian Olympic Association delegates were very impressed with the silat team. There were other sports such as lagori, sqay and roll ball, but the delegates liked the pencak silat demo more.